My old DVD player is breaking down. Amazon is having a heck of a deal on these. There are only 10 left, so no one buy them all before this Thursday, when I should be able to scrape the change together to grab one at this nearly give away price!

Found out a guy I used to go to school with whom I now best know for his rants about anarcho-capitalism on Facebook is becoming Orthodox now. Having some pretty interesting conversation with him.

I would be best friends with this person.

I never really knew him that well. He graduated when I was in 8th grade. Apparently his dad is the minister of one of Dayton's fringier charismatic churches. He does have an insanely hot sister, so that might be a perk should I wind up getting to know him better. But on the other hand, his political postings are really really annoying. That could conceivably form a barrier.

« Last Edit: November 13, 2012, 09:10:22 PM by That person »

Logged

"Some have such command of their bowels, that they can break wind continuously at pleasure, so as to produce the effect of singing."- St. Augustine of Hippo

One day I will tell the story of the time I was interviewed on 60 Minutes.

Selam

Logged

"Whether it’s the guillotine, the hangman’s noose, or reciprocal endeavors of militaristic horror, radical evil will never be recompensed with radical punishment. The only answer, the only remedy, and the only truly effective response to radical evil is radical love."+ Gebre Menfes Kidus +http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/Products/SKU-000984270/Rebel-Song.aspx

Can you link to the video? Google doesn't show anything for "Gebre Menfes Kidus 60 Minutes" and I can't remember your birth name.

I haven't been able to find it either. I was 18 years old, and it was in 1985 I think.

Selam

Logged

"Whether it’s the guillotine, the hangman’s noose, or reciprocal endeavors of militaristic horror, radical evil will never be recompensed with radical punishment. The only answer, the only remedy, and the only truly effective response to radical evil is radical love."+ Gebre Menfes Kidus +http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/Products/SKU-000984270/Rebel-Song.aspx

My old DVD player is breaking down. Amazon is having a heck of a deal on these. There are only 10 left, so no one buy them all before this Thursday, when I should be able to scrape the change together to grab one at this nearly give away price!

I didn't even know what “60 Minutes” was at the time. My parents sent me to a "reform school" when I was 13 years old. I was there for two and a half years. The place was called "Anneewakee," a Native American name which meant "land of the friendly people" (a misnomer if there ever was one.) We lived in the woods and were forced to do harsh manual work that surely violated child labor laws.

Dr. Louis Poetter, the man that started and ran the place, was a pedophile. Allegations were made against him in the early 70's. But the allegations were swept under the rug because he was a large contributor to Jimmy Carter. Many of the people who worked there were also pedophiles. Children were sodomized, beaten, and subjected to psychological torture.

By the grace of God, I was not sexually or physically abused. But there were a couple of times when I was approached in a sexual manner by a group leader and a psychiatrist. But I instinctively knew how to carry myself and react in a way that let it be known that I wasn't susceptible to that sort of abuse. The tricky thing about it was that we were all at the mercy of these people. There was no predetermined sentence, like when you go to jail or prison. You had to “earn” your way out of there. And if the shrink wrote in your chart that you were not being cooperative, then that could cost you extra months in the program. So I had to sort of pretend like I didn't even know that I was being approached in that way, because I didn't want them to get offended and write something bad in my chart. And to be honest, at the time I really wasn't even sure if what was happening was really happening.

The psychological and emotional abuse was a different matter. There was really no way to escape it. I saw horrible tortures and abuses, and it made us all terrified to speak out against it. Looking back, I feel like I was a coward. I had no way of knowing the depths of the systematic abuses that were occurring. We were just kids, and we were conditioned to believe that all those in authority were doing what was good for us.

It was a weird trip all around. And yet, there were some redeeming things about the experience as well. I think I learned how to see beyond the facade of things, to recognize that evil often lurks behind nice smiles, friendly faces, and noble ideals. One day I will sit down and write about the entire experience at Anneewakee. As awful as those years were, I was one of the fortunate ones.

But anyway, a few months after I was released, Dr. Poetter was finally busted and the lid blew off the entire program. I was asked if I was willing to be interviewed about my personal experiences at Anneewakee. I said, "sure." I didn't say anything significant, and I didn't mention the two occasions when I felt that I was being sexually threatened. At that time, I was still afraid that I would be sent back there. And like I said, I wasn't even sure if I had interpreted those incidents in the right way. Maybe it was my imagination. I know now that it wasn't.

I was one of 3 or 4 inmates/students (we still don't know how to refer to ourselves) that was interviewed by “60 Minutes.” One of them was a guy I played football with who was a great athlete and a great fellow. But his father was the psychiatrist who had made advances towards me. He and his father were both there at the “60 Minutes” interview. I kept looking at the guy and seeing the tears in his eyes. I knew he loved his father and he could not believe that these horrible allegations could be true. And honestly, his dad was always very kind to me. I met with him once a month while I was there, and he was always helpful and encouraging. It was only on that one occasion that he made a sexual advance. So, I couldn't in good conscience bring up an ambiguous incident that might ruin this man's life. But later on that psychiatrist - along with others - was convicted of multiple counts of child sexual abuse that were proven. I have always wondered how his son dealt with that. I hope that he is OK today.

Well, anyway, that's a very brief and rambling synopsis of how I was interviewed on “60 Minutes.” I wish I could say that I was interviewed about my book. But I won't hold my breath waiting for that to happen. LOL!

"Whether it’s the guillotine, the hangman’s noose, or reciprocal endeavors of militaristic horror, radical evil will never be recompensed with radical punishment. The only answer, the only remedy, and the only truly effective response to radical evil is radical love."+ Gebre Menfes Kidus +http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/Products/SKU-000984270/Rebel-Song.aspx

I have a minor craving for some dill pickles. I used to have some but threw them out a few days ago. I should not have done so. I had bought them to put on hamburgers. I used some, but not others. I grew tired of the hamburger making process. Too much greasy yuckiness to clean left in the pan. I don't want my drains clogged. That would not be for the best. In the past I have found drain cleaners to be hit and miss. Better to be safe that to be backed up.

Just finished a 97-pages, 45000 words essay on the Byzantine Empire for my high school exams. I pity the teacher who has to read it.

LOL. I know what it's like to overachieve on certain assignments, but not THAT much!

I'm sure you'll get a high 'A,' though.

« Last Edit: November 19, 2012, 09:56:18 PM by Severian »

Logged

"I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die [...] These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." -The Lord Jesus Christ

No longer active on OC.net. Please pray for me and forgive any harm I might have caused by my ignorance and malice.

I'm always reminded of that scene where George Costanza wants to be Latvian Orthodox and has to read a stack of theological books to be properly catechized, whenever someone on this board suggests an inquirer to read x amount of theological books in Orthodoxy.

Logged

“There is your brother, naked, crying, and you stand there confused over the choice of an attractive floor covering.”